IPO to value Vietnam's budget airline VietJet at $1.2 billion

An airplane of Vietjet Air is seen before a flight at Noi Bai airport in Hanoi, Vietnam on December 15, 2016. Photo by Reuters

'VietJet's IPO and the other share sales will attract more foreign cash to Vietnam's stock market and help raise market capital.'

Budget airline VietJet is set to raise about $170 million in an initial public offering (IPO) that will value it at $1.2 billion, people close to the deal said on Wednesday.

VietJet Aviation JSC, founded in 2007 by Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao -- now Vietnam's first female billionaire -- will add its name to a list of coming and completed sales that includes Vietnam Airlines, brewer Sabeco and dairy Vinamilk.

VietJet will sell 44.7 million shares priced just below the middle of their VND75,900 to 98,400 ($3.34 to $4.33) marketed range, four people said.

The price for institutional buyers will be VND84,400 each, the people said. One of them told Reuters that the price for retail investors would be VND86,500.

An overallotment option would not be exercised, the people told IFR, a Thomson Reuters publication. One of the people told Reuters that the offer was oversubscribed.

The airline commanded around 40 percent of the domestic market, and is likely to surpass flag carrier Vietnam Airlines this year as the country's biggest domestic airline, market analyst CAPA Center for Aviation said in January.

For its part, the one-time government-owned Vietnam Airlines JSC on Monday said it has asked shareholders to register their ownership by late last month as it too prepares to list at the Hanoi Stock Exchange.

The government next plans to sell its nearly 90 percent stake in Saigon Beer Alcohol Beverage Corp (Sabeco) by 2017, capitalizing on increasing interest in Vietnamese companies.

On Monday, Singapore-listed beverage maker Fraser and Neave Ltd said it paid about $500 million for around 5.4 percent of Vietnam Dairy Products JSC (Vinamilk).

"VietJet's IPO and the other share sales will attract more foreign cash to Vietnam's stock market and help raise market capital, which may help the country upgrade to emerging-market status," said Saigon Securities' Deputy Director of Retail Research Nguyen The Minh. "Market liquidity will be improved as well."